Undisclosed Insubordination
by Bren Gail
Summary: Of all of the team that he thought he'd have to bail out of jail, Penelope was next to last on his list. CCOAC Round 11 Theme Song Challenge Response. Penelope Garcia; Your Kiss Is On My List. Now Complete.
1. Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights whatsoever to the wonderful Criminal Minds franchise. Neither am I associated with the franchise, stuidos, or networks affiliated with the show. This fanfiction or any other fanfictions written by me are not-for-profit and are written for entertainment purposes only. No monetary payment is being made or received.

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><p><em><strong>Undisclosed Insubordination<br>**_by Bren Gail

Penelope Garcia thoroughly fed up with every aspect of not only her job, but also now her personal life, growled in frustration and threw her hands up as if in emphasis of that feeling. Her car keys flew out of her right hand, and landed several feet away, with a loud clink and clatter on the colorful tiled floor.

The small grey, black, and blonde kitten that Rossi had only days ago persuaded her to take in and give "a nice proper home," skedaddled quickly away from its wet gourmet kitten dinner and out of the kitchen then into the dark scary place under Penelope's bed. Penelope shook her head at the kitten's cowardice, before realizing if she were small enough to sit in someone's palm and a maniac was swearing, stomping, and throwing things around then she too would become intimidated and find a hiding spot that was not easily accessible to the craziness.

Her purple and pink sequined Otterbox™ incased iPhone™ began to buzz from its place on the countertop and she rushed to it in the hopes that it was whom she desperately wanted it to be. The caller identification crushed her hopes of talking to him when the display blinked Lynch, Kevin. She started crying. With each tear that fell from her brown eyes, her frustration grew, and what she thought she wanted diminished.

Kevin had proposed; the moment that she had been dreaming of since she was a seven-year-old flower girl to her very much older cousin, Dharma, had happened. Harsh reality had crushed the dream. She had not pictured the proposal to be at her work place in front of an elevator nor had she pictured the proposal to be done indirectly, nonchalant, or unromantic, as it had been. Moreover, she had not dreamed that a man like Kevin would do it. She loved him, but she knew that he could never compete in a beauty contest and score high.

She was not obsessed with appearances, but Mister Walt Disney had sabotaged her seven-year-old self's dreams with that of a picture of walking perfection; tall, dark, handsome, lean yet muscular, and well spoken. The famous animator had, also given her and many other young girls' beauty complexes, because if you did not look like Cinderella that automatically meant that you were one of the ugly stepsisters; no one had ever wanted to be Drizella or Anastasia and if they said, they did then they were auditioning, to be the next Pinocchio.

She sighed in disgust at her train of thought and feeling defeated she sat down at her small dining room table. Instead of feeling blissfully happy and exuberant, as she should at this occasion, she felt frustrated, confused, and depressed. She loved Kevin and thought that she wanted to be his wife and eventually the mother of his children, but after his ambiguous proposal and before the elevator had revealed her fine furry friends, she had a startling revelation; she had no clue what she wanted.

Even though, she now had no inkling of what she desired, she knew what she did not yearn for. She did not crave to be Mrs. Kevin Lynch. She did not want to move out to the country so an Unsub could have the textbook set up to torture and murder her. She did not require disconnecting from her beloved technology and she did not want to be disengaged from her friends and work which both had become hefty irreplaceable spaces in her life.

She ignored the once again buzzing of her smart phone. She spared a glance at it when she heard the two beeps signaling she had a voice mail. The smart phone now immobilized and silent, she looked at her in much need of manicure fingertips. She picked at the chipped cuticle then went to grab her phone to text Emily about the possibility of having a girl's day soon when she distraughtly realized that those could never again happen.

She broke into uncontrollable despairingly sobs upon remembering that Emily was dead; her big sister from another family altogether had become a statistic, a murder victim. Penelope silently berated herself for her stupidity and forgetfulness, how did one forget that one of your best friends were dead, why did it feel as if she weren't dead, but only taking longer to come home from a case? Penelope had no answers no matter how desperately she sought after them.

She continued to cry for several minutes, before her thoughts went another direction. She inhaled through her nose and exhaled out her mouth as if that would completely fix her problems. With a deep shaky breath, she stood and steadied herself by grasping onto the back of the chair she had just vacated.

She could not let herself be lured into the long roller coaster of depression and despair. She snubbed the temptation to succumb. She would not settle for anything less than what she deserved. She refused to be any circumstance or man's doormat ever again, because she knew that if Emily were here, she would not accept that her bright and bubbly best friend had given up or that she had let the darkness extinguish her light.

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><p><strong>Note<strong>: Thank you all for reading the first installment of this three-part story, what did you think of it thus far? The second part will be updated either tomorrow night or early Tuesday morning. If you could spare a moment of your time and check out the poll on my profile, I would very much appreciate it! Thanks again!

- Bren Gail


	2. Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights whatsoever to the wonderful Criminal Minds franchise. Neither am I associated with the franchise, stuidos, or networks affiliated with the show. This fanfiction or any other fanfictions written by me are not-for-profit and are written for entertainment purposes only. No monetary payment is being made or received.

Summary: *Season 6 Lauren and Finale Spoilers.* He promised that they would talk, but he bailed before they could. Therefore, he would have an unannounced midnight tête-à-tête. Four Shot Featuring Garcia/Hotch Friendship.*Includes CCOAC Round 11 Theme Song Prompt*

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><p><em><strong>Undisclosed Insubordination<strong>_

by Bren Gail

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><p><strong>Part 2<strong>

Soft rain droplets fell against Esther as the windshield wipers made a slight swishing noise as they slowly swayed back and forth. The bright headlights penetrated the wet darkness of the faintly lit street as Penelope drove to her destination. She nibbled on her bottom lip in nervous habit as she glanced at the dashboard clock, 1:03 A.M., and not for the second time since leaving her apartment complex, she thought of retreating from her misson, but she mentally reasoned with herself, _"Penelope, he promised that you two would talk about it, but he left before you could. He left first, before anyone else, which means that it either must be bad or that something happened with Jack. Either way, you gotta get to the bottom of this, you won't be able to sleep at all, which will make tomorrow at work complete hell."_

Finally, at the first stop of her eventual destination, she turned and stopped at the gated entrance. She unbuckled her seat belt, rolled the driver window down, and gingerly typed in the security code for the large black Iron Gate to slide open. She slowly drove through the entrance then rolled her window back up, before she glanced at the rear view mirror to watch the gate slide close. Once she was sure that the gate closed, she slowly drove through the luxurious neighborhood. Because of the darkness of night combined with the no longer soft, yet now steady rainfall, she could not see in detail the homes that lined the streets. She did not have to see to know that this neighborhood was several pay grades above what she would ever afford. Not only were each of the homes and grounds expansive, extravagant, and eco-friendly they each retained a state of the art security system.

Blue and red lights materialized directly behind her as if in emphasis of how high security was in this neighborhood. She pulled over to the side of the road and rolled her window down as she waited the L.E.O. Yes, local enforcement officer, this neighborhood had its own, albeit, small police unit.

The flashlight almost blinded her. "Good evening miss, may I see your license and registration?"

"Yes, sir," She replied before taking a moment to get what he requested. He scrutinized her license, which was coming close to its expiration date.

"Ms. Garcia, you're a long way from Prince William County, what brings you here to our lovely neighborhood?"

"I'm visiting a friend." She replied.

"A friend?" He asked, with a hint doubt lacing his tone.

"Yes, sir." She assured.

"What's the friend's name?" He asked.

"Aaron." She replied.

"Does this Aaron have a last name?" He smartly retorted.

"Of course," She replied tongue in cheek. She realized that he had a job to do and was executing it, but he did not have to be such an ass.

"Ma'am, I'm going to ask you to follow me, to the entrance." He ordered in a tone that was completely unnecessarily.

"Sir, I understand and uber appreciate that your job is to serve and protect the people of this neighborhood, but you need to remove whatever it is that is up your patootie and treat me with some decorum,"

He interrupted her from continuing. "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the car."

She stared mutely at him, before stepping out of her very _special_ car. He could have hurt Esther's feelings by simply referring to her as 'the car.; He raised an eyebrow at her attire; baby version of Lola Bunny pajama bottoms and her Full Blooded Italian Women's Tee that Rossi had bought her last Christmas as a gag gift.

"Face the car." He said simultaneously grabbing her elbow and roughly turning her so that she did face her car. Immediately, he began to pat her down.

"Are you serious? I am a FBI Special Agent," She stopped and squeaked in protest as his pat down got a little too friendly for her liking.

He immediately interrupted her. "You're as fucking Looney as your wardrobe. The FBI don't accept freaks. That shirt you're wearing doesn't make you FBI."

"Really? I thought it did," She gasped as if in shock. She then continued in an exasperated tone. "Oh, no, freaky little me forgot that my credentials do."

"We're going to take a ride." He stated.

"The hell we are." She started to struggle. "I need to speak to my boss."

"And who would that be? Uncle Vinnie?" He asked sarcastically as he forcefully pushed her against the car. She hissed in pain.

"No, Deputy Fife," She retorted. He tightened his grip on her elbow then turned her and roughly pushed her toward his squad car. She continued onward as he manhandled her. "My boss is BAU Unit Chief Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner."

He opened the back passenger door and roughly pushed her in. Right before he slammed the door shut, he replied to her last statement. "Agent Hotchner would never associate with someone like you. He's the most upstanding person I've ever met."

She bit her tongue, because she knew that if she were not Hotch's subordinate then that comment would have more truth in it than she would have liked.

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><p><strong>Note<strong>: Don't you hate it when you have your day off completely planned, yet you get called in right before your day off was to start? Yep, that's why this wasn't posted Tuesday. This not posted yesterday was completely my fault; I slept most of the day away. Short I know, but the next installment will be much longer. Instead of a three-shot, this is now going to be a four-shot. Rest assured that the part with the theme song prompt is approaching. I Pinky Promise, :)

Sneak peek for Part 3: _Of all of the team that he thought he'd have to bail out of jail, Penelope was next to last on his list. He'd never would have suspected it would be because she said she was a FBI Agent. On the other hand, he **would** have suspected her getting arrested for hacking into classified information or stalking His Royal Highness, Prince William._


	3. Part 3

**Part 3**

Aaron Hotchner had long ago changed out of his black fitted suit into a clean white under shirt and dark blue pajama bottoms. The thermostat was set to a comfortable temperature for late May. He felt at ease while he cradled his now slumbering five-year-old son, Jack, in his arms after Jack had read him a bedtime story. Jack had weeks ago insisted that on his last official day of Kindergarten, he should be able to stay up late and read the bedtime story. Aaron had not been able to decline the request.

However, two hours after Jack had fallen asleep and four hours since they had arrived home, Aaron was still awake. When he had uncharacteristically left work minutes after the jet had landed, he had attempted to vanquish thoughts of work. He had succeeded until Jack had fallen asleep.

He worried about the fate of his team. Although, he would not hold any of them back, he wished that the team could remain intact or as intact as it could with the loss of both Emily to death and JJ to the Pentagon. The Blackberry® ringing in his pocket interrupted his thoughts before they could turn darker.

He frowned when he noticed the phone number on the display was the small police station of the large gated community.

"Hotchner," He answered the phone without revealing the concern he felt.

His brow relayed his confusion when he heard his Technical Analyst answer him back.

"Aaron," She stated firmly and his eyebrow quirked upon hearing his first name. She only referred to him as such when she was either pissed or extremely happy. "You have got to bail me out of this."

"Bail you out of what?" He asked for clarification.

"Jail, of course." She replied snippety. "Why else would I be calling you in the early hours of the morning demanding to be bailed out?"

He rubbed a palm over his brow and left side of his face. He should be shocked, but he was not.

"Must I ask why you've been arrested?" He asked wearily.

"Being my lovely self," She replied.

"Garcia," He ordered her to explain by using only her last name.

"Hotch, seriously, I was being my lovely self. The neighborhood watchman," She paused and he heard a male muffled voice. She continued as she ignored that voice. "Fine, a Community Law Enforcement Officer took it upon himself to hand cuff me, and bring me to the Community Station."

"Garcia," He stated wearily before he again repeated part of his earlier question. "Must I ask?"

"He refuses to believe that I am a FBI Special Agent. Hotch, we both know that I am, btw I was coming to see you, mister I'll talk to you later, but not really."

Ah. It clicked in his mind that she must have looked suspicious in his neighborhood after midnight. She did not live in the area, which meant that her car would be unknown to the patrol that stopped every unknown car that came through the gate no matter the fact that one had to have a pass code to open it.

"Give me a few minutes and I'll be there." He answered.

"HDYK?" She asked surprised.

It was telling how much influence and interaction she had had with him the past few months, because he recognized what the acronym she had just sprouted meant 'How did you know?'

"Garcia." He stated in an authoritative tone.

"Right. Profiler. Got it." She replied before she hung up.

Aaron shook his head in disbelief as he gently lifted Jack higher into his arms before he stood from the comfortable position on the bed and proceeded to get the two of the ready to make the trip to the station located right within and to the side of the front gate.

Of all of the team that he thought he would have to bail out of jail, Penelope was next to last on his list. He would have never had suspected that it would be because she had said she was a FBI Agent. On the other hand, he _would_ have suspected her getting arrested for hacking into classified information or stalking His Royal Highness, Prince William.

Occasionally Jack stirred in his arms; when Aaron would make quick movements, when he secured the front door and the security system, and when Jack was buckled into the backseat of the SUV directly behind the driver seat. Jack awoke from his peaceful slumber when the driver side passenger door was as quietly as possible closed. The SUV broke the tranquil silence. As Aaron backed out of the drive way and into the street, Jack spoke. "Where are we going daddy?"

"We are going to pick up Ms. Penelope, because she can't drive her car to our house."

Every bit of what he told Jack was the truth, however heavily veiled. He would not tell him that they were going to bail Penelope out of jail. If he could prevent from telling anyone, he would, however the Bureau would ultimately discover what had happened. He preferred it would be from him not only of the fact that he was her direct superior, but he wanted to protect her from unnecessary ridicule or gossip.

"Okay." Jack replied before he snuggled farther into the seat and closed his eyes as if he were trying to go back to asleep.

Without traffic or any other obstacles, the drive to the station was quick. Aaron parked, unbuckled his seat belt, and retrieved a drowsing Jack from his seat. As soon as he walked through the front entrance of the station, he heard her.

"Just you wait until the FBI BAU Unit Chief SSA Aaron Hotchner gets here. He'll tell you that I am not some insane psycho frump looking for trouble." She screeched at the two uniforms that flanked her chair where she sat seething with arms crossed.

Aaron said a silent prayer of thanks for the blessing that she was no longer handcuffed, because he had not yet thought of a veiled honest reason that he could tell Jack why she would be so.

"Ms. Pen'lpe!" Jack squealed thoroughly belaying the fact that he had minutes ago awakened from a sound sleep and then again from a slight doze.

"Jack!" Penelope responded in a surprised and embarrassed tone as she scanned the small station for him and his father. When she located them walking towards her, she stood from her seat which made the uniforms place their hands just above the skin of her upper arms as if readying to restrain her. Her eyes winced at the dark look that crossed his face, before he snapped a combination of the frozen attorney and interrogator masks of his that she had long ago jokingly nicknamed thus. However, nothing about his or her current demeanor called for any jokes whatsoever.

"Pardon me," Hotch stated authoritatively, which effectively got the two uniforms' attention.

"Agent Hotchner," The uniform that originally handcuffed Penelope greeted him and extended his right hand. Aaron shook the hand firmly as he balanced Jack on his hip.

"Officer," He greeted before he looked at Penelope and chose his words for the uniforms' to realize that they had made a mistake. "Garcia, I hope that you have not yet considered leaving the BAU. You are a valuable asset to the unit and irreplaceable in Jack and my life."

"She is actually a Special Agent?" Officer Smyth asked in a combination of outrage and disbelief.

Both Penelope and Aaron were prevented from retorting their response, because Jack had spoken even though he knew it was best for him to keep silent while the adults spoke. "Mister, Ms. Pen'lpe is the bestest 'puter Agent there ever is!"

The facetious support of a child had never meant more to her than at that moment.


	4. Part 4

**Part 4**

The facetious support of a child had never meant more to her than when Jack had spoken up and told the Barney Fife wannabe that she was indeed the best Computer Agent ever. She had smiled when the five year old had asked his father whether he could hug her. The smile slipped when she remembered that she was technically under arrest and she did not want Barney Fife to scare or confuse Jack. However, thankfully the two flanking guards did not react when Hotch placed Jack down unto the floor and the child ran to her.

As she hugged Jack, Aaron requested to speak to someone to clear up any confusion concerning his Technical Analyst. She smiled brightly and rolled her eyes when her two guards flanking her and the Barney Fife clone all started to speak and apologize at once. Roughly, fifteen minutes after Hotch and Jack had entered the entrance to the building; they again along with Penelope had walked out of it.

"Garcia, Ester has to stay here until tomorrow afternoon Aaron vaguely stated as he held the door open for her to leave with one hand, and the other was wrapped around the handle of Penelope's bedazzled go bag. "After searching it, they let me get this out, but they won't release her until the morning."

"Yes, I thought so." She sighed as they walked toward Aaron's SUV. "If you could give me a ride to the exit of this luxurious Mayberry, I'll call a cab."

"You will do no such thing." He retorted. "You can use one of our guest room, I'll give you a ride to work, and we'll pick up Ester tomorrow after work. It's the reason I grabbed your go bag, so you'd have something to change into."

About to object, Penelope prevented from doing so by Jack, was surprised at the young child's enthusiasm. "Yes! Ms. Pen'l'pe we're having a sleep over!"

Aaron slightly shook his head as the corner of his mouth quirked upward. "Jack, it's rather late, this will not be a sleep over like you have at Dean's."

"Dean is my bestest friend, Ms. Pen'l'pe!" Jack told her as he yawned.

"Cool!" She replied as her smiled faltered as she realized that his sleep was disturbed, because of her. They stopped walking "Bestest friends are the best!"

"Do you have a bestest friend?" Jack asked as they approached the automobile.

"Yes, I do." Penelope replied. She smiled as she watched father and son interact. Aaron picked Jack up, opened the door, and safely latched him into his seat in the car. Aaron opened the front passenger door and she climbed in, and he carefully closed the door before walking around to the driver side door. Just as she buckled her seat belt, Aaron stepped in, and buckled. By habit, he checked the mirrors, and looked into the rearview one.

"You ready, buddy?" He asked Jack.

"Yes, daddy!" He replied as he yawned again. "Ms. Pen'l'pe, who is your bestest friend?"

"Derek!"

"Mr. Morgan?" Jack replied surprised and was quiet for a second before he asked. "Do you have adult sleep overs with him?"

Penelope gasped in surprise as Aaron quickly met Jack's gaze in the rearview mirror. "Jackson Hotchner, what do you mean?"

"Uh-oh!" Jack exclaimed as he understood what it meant when he was called 'Jackson' instead of simply Jack. He quickly answered the question as he seen the impatient look in his father's eyes. "Dean's seester has 'em with her bestest friend. They close her bedroom door and listen to re-a-lly loud music."

Penelope placed her elbow on the windowpane and rested her forehead against her hand. When she had decided to go to Aaron and give her a piece of her mind, she had not expected to have an altercation with Barney Fife version 2.0, get arrested, Ester impounded, and now Jack was talking about adult sleepovers. Tonight had become, at the very least, surreal. She braved a glance toward Aaron and watched him take a deep calming breath.

"Jack, remember the talk we had about some things not being appropriate to say?"

"Yes, sir. Like how Uncle Dave got grey hair and Mr. Will's voice hurts my ears."

Penelope stifled a giggle, which she prevented Jack from hearing, but not Aaron. Her eyes widened, but she smiled when she noticed the beginning of a smile across his lips.

"Yes, Jack. Talking about those things will hurt people's feelings, but non-adults talking about adult sleep overs is bad."

Jack quickly apologized. "I sorry, daddy. I won't talk 'bout it no more."

The rest of the short drive to the Hotchner home was silent. Aaron pulled into the drive way, turned the ignition off, and chuckled.

Pleasantly surprised by the sound of his laugh, Penelope smiled and thought the sound was too rare. She could think of only a handful of times where he had smiled or laughed. Aaron motioned to the back with his thumb. "He's done feel asleep."

"I'm sorry, Aaron." Penelope apologized. "I didn't-"

Aaron interjected effectively stopping her from talking. "We'll talk about it once we get inside and Jack tucked in."

"Okay." She quietly replied as she opened the door and stepped down out of the SUV. She walked around the car and patiently waited for Aaron to retrieve a slumbering Jack. He did not wake up until after the security alarm was disabled and they were all safely in the house.

"Daddy, you gonna tuck me in 'gain?" Jack groggily asked.

"Yes, buddy, I am." Aaron replied as he held him tighter.

Jack's next question was muffled, because he spoke against Aaron's shoulder. "Give me hug and kiss too?"

"Yes, hug and kiss too."

"Good." Jack mumbled before he asked suddenly alert. "Can Ms. Pen'l'pe, give me 'nother hug?"

"If she would like to." Aaron replied not committing Penelope to tucking his child in for bed.

"And kiss." Jack quickly added.

Aaron's brown eyes met her blue and his eyebrows rose in question.

"I'd love for you to give me a hug, Jackster." Penelope stated as she reached for him. She gave him a bear hug and he giggled.

"Kiss too, please?" Jack asked sweetly as his eyes pleaded with her and his smile tugged at her heartstrings. She inwardly sighed, he was only five years old, and he already had the knack for charm. Lord, help the hearts he'd break, whether intentional or not, throughout his lifetime.

"Yes, your kiss is on my list, little man!" Penelope replied as she pecked him on the forehead then cheek and back to his forehead. Jack giggled as he hugged Penelope's neck tighter and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Seconds after the peck on the cheek, Jack reached for Aaron, and he took him.

"If you'd like, when I get back, we can talk." Aaron offered, knowing that she wanted to talk, but unsure of how to go about it, even though she had instigated the set of events.

"Good night, Ms. Pen'l'pe, I love you!" Jack stated as he yawned into one hand and waved the other.

"Good night, sweet dreams." Penelope replied as she waved.

Penelope watched Aaron carry him upstairs and around the corner. She stood in the foyer fidgeting before she sighed, grabbed ahold of the handle of her go bag, walked toward the winding staircase, and sat on the second to last step. She placed her elbow on her knee and rested the right side of her face in her palm. When she felt something nudge her arm, she abruptly opened her eyes and blinked. She was tired. She must have fallen asleep.

"Hey," Hotch greeted. "We'll talk tomorrow."

"Nuh-uh! Mister-We'll-Talk-Later." She retorted. "We'll," She yawned. "Talk now!"

"You realize that I am not in a position to speak freely." Aaron stated patiently.

"Yes, I realize." She retorted. "However, you don't realize that I already know what you cannot," She paused to air quotes. " 'speak freely' about."

"What did you do?" Aaron asked before quickly back tracking. "Never mind, I do not need to know."

"How could you let the team be separated?" Penelope asked quietly.

"I did not let them. It was out of my control. JJ leaving, I fought. I fought my reassignment, but only made a little leeway."

"Yes, I don't find it a consolation prize that although, you're going to be reassigned you're still going to hold your title, rank, and place in the team."

"Penelope," He sighed. "It was either me be reassigned, or the entire team."

She gasped. "What?"

"Yes, I was not exaggerating about the budget cuts. Seaver is being reassigned to Swann's Unit out west, and I'm being sent to wherever I am, it hasn't been decided. I've negotiated a severe pay cut to keep my rank and place on the team in name only, because we both know that the brass will realize that they made a mistake. They always do where it concerns the BAU." He paused. "The team will be whole, Penelope. I'll still be here, but not actually here."

"Aaron, the team will never be whole again. It took a while for us to heal with Elle leaving, then Gideon, but the departure of JJ, the d-death of Emily, and now you leaving? I don't think we'll survive this. You're the glue that keeps us together."

Aaron bowed his head in shame at the despair in her tone, the pure helplessness wounded him, and the grief that was briefly displayed as she spoke of Emily, made him feel ashamed. Although, he was confiding in her about the budget cuts and reassignments, something he should not do, he could not, would not reveal to her that Emily was alive. He cleared his throat and revealed one secret that might help her adjust to the dynamic change that the team would soon go through. "Dave pulled some strings and JJ is coming back."

He was surprised at the force she had behind her. She grabbed ahold of him and hugged him tightly as she cried happy, relieving tears. It was going to be a long day tomorrow as he would not be able to sleep anymore.

_The next day, nearer lunch than breakfast_

"Aaron," Dave greeted as he entered the office, closed the door, and made his way to one of the visitor chairs in front of his desk. He placed his elbows on the arms of the chair and tapped his fingertips together as he observed Aaron.

After several minutes of Dave watching him, Aaron interrupted the comfortable silence. "Dave, it isn't like you to not say what is on your mind. Say it."

"It is quite unlike you to arrive later than everyone else." Dave retorted.

"I told everyone last night to come in later this morning." Aaron replied.

"Yes," Dave agreed. "However, it is more unlike _you_ to arrive late, let alone at all with our unique and quirky Analyst."

"Ah." Aaron stated as he sat back in his chair and wondered if Penelope had received a talk from Morgan yet, because when he and Penelope had entered the bullpen at the same time, the look Morgan had given Penelope had matched the ones that Rossi gave him. The looks were much like a bulldog ogling a thick steak. "That is what this is about."

"Yes," Dave confirmed as he too sat back into his chair. "What is this between you and Garcia? Are you visiting our lovely kitten's litter box?"

"Don't be crude." Aaron declared before he answered the first question as vague as he could without revealing that she had been arrested on her way to see him late at night, at home. Sure, that would ease any suspicions that Dave might have about them. "Garcia needed a ride to work, because Ester was towed."

Rossi raised an eyebrow as if to say 'is that all you've got?' "And she could not have asked Derek to give her a ride? I ask again, what is going on between you and Garcia. I can't help either one of you, if you don't confide in me. I have ways around rules."

Aaron inwardly snorted; at the polite way, Dave had said that he had dirt on Erin. "The only thing that is going on between us is either professional or friendship."

Dave snorted. "If the rumors are true about her and Derek, I'm sure that she _is_ a professional."

Aaron cringed at Dave implying something else crude about Penelope. He retorted. "You and I both know that Derek is too stupid to see what Penelope feels for him. His profiling skills become absolute when it remotely contains to something personal.

"What _would_ you call what did happen between you and Penelope?" Rossi asked nettled. "Stop pussy footing around, I know something happened."

As Aaron remembered what happened last night, he retorted in a firm resonant tone. "An act of undisclosed insubordination."

Dave smirked, convinced that something had happened between the two, regardless of what Aaron said. "Eh? Sometimes, those acts are the most fun."

Aaron rolled his eyes and let Dave believe what he wanted to believe, because no denial would persuade him otherwise.

_**The End**_

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><p><em>Author's Note: Thank you all who have read, reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story. Also, I want to thank you for your patience for this story to be completed. I hope that you enjoyed reading, Undisclosed Insubordination.<em>


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